Months after Andy Burnham became the UK prime minister, his government has recently launched a “Be Ready” campaign, urging citizens across the country to be prepared with three days’ worth of food, drinking water, and other essentials at home.
The advisory, issued earlier this week, aims to help UK residents cope with emergencies that could disrupt everyday services, including power, water, phones and the internet. It is the first stage of a three-year campaign that Burnham’s government has announced to help households across the country be better prepared.
Why is the UK government asking citizens to stockpile now?
Concerns about cyberattacks and extreme weather form the backdrop to the campaign. Wes Streeting, the UK’s defense secretary, said the advisory, which is very similar to the guidance issued by the previous government led by Keir Starmer, was not triggered by any “particular piece of intelligence” but was rather about “national resilience.” However, he later stated that Britain needs to be prepared for any threats of “state-sponsored terrorism” by Russia or any other hostile powers targeting everyday infrastructure.
According to The Guardian, the latest advisory comes at a time when 32 UK government websites went offline as a precaution after a security flaw was discovered in PHP, a programming language used by millions of websites worldwide. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre sent 50,000 alerts to organisations affected by the flaw.
Hackers linked to Iran were also blamed for a cyberattack in August that temporarily shut down a small British power generator. The UK government said the wider energy network was never at risk. However, the incident suggests a growing threat from Iran-linked hackers to British infrastructure.
The advisory also comes roughly a month after the National Audit Office (NAO) warned that Britain’s food supply chain is at risk amid growing cyberattack threats and the climate crisis. It added that the Department for Food, the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) had not done enough in recent years to improve supply chain resilience.
Extreme weather adds to preparedness concerns
Burnham’s government has launched the campaign ahead of the winter storm season, following several severe storms in the last few years. Earlier in January, Storm Goretti brought winds of almost 100mph, leaving tens of thousands of homes without electricity across the Midlands, south-west England and Wales.
According to the official release, the rationale that Burnham’s government has offered for asking people to be prepared for any unexpected event stems from recent weather disruptions, including storms last winter and the wildfires that the UK witnessed this summer.
The statement noted, “With storms last winter and the wildfires this summer showing how severe weather events can cause disruption to our everyday lives and impact the services we rely on, from phone signal to water and the internet, launching the campaign brings the UK into line with European peers who all run similar campaigns already.”
Separately, there were also concerns that a possible “super El Niño” could make 2027 the hottest year on record. It could also disrupt weather patterns, putting pressure on global food supplies and energy systems.
What did the UK PM say about the “Be Ready” campaign?
According to the BBC, Burnham on Friday (local time) said that unexpected events “seem to be becoming more common” and that everyone should have “those supplies in the house to get you through those moments”. He added, “It’s not about panicking… It’s about just taking sensible measures to have enough in the house to tide you over should there be a difficult situation.”
The official release further said the UK government has worked with other countries to draw inspiration from their experience and best practices. Elaborating further, it noted that the three-day preparedness advisory, which is now at the heart of the UK campaign, is also used by others, including France, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
What does the UK’s emergency preparedness checklist include?
According to the government’s “Be Ready” checklist, citizens are advised not to do it all at once but rather to gradually build their readiness over the course of time, picking up an extra item when they can. Here’s what the checklist includes:
1. Water: The government has advised keeping enough bottled water for three days, ideally three litres per person per day. This will be in addition to the water that will be needed for cooking and washing.
2. Food: Citizens are advised to stock up on three days’ worth of non-perishable food items that do not require refrigeration or cooking, including tinned meat, fish or vegetables, dried fruit and nuts. The checklist further states that they should choose foods they would normally eat.
3. Hygiene: Hand sanitisers, wet wipes, other hygiene products, and bathroom essentials.
4. Light and warmth: A torch with spare batteries, blankets, sleeping bags, and warm clothing.
5. Communication and information: A battery-powered or wind-up FM radio and a fully charged power bank.
6. Money and documents: Cash in a mix of coins and notes, payment cards, and copies of identification and important documents, along with important phone numbers and information, including details of regular medication and doses.
7. Medical and health: Citizens have been advised to prepare a first aid kit and stock it with their essential medicines and medical supplies.
8. Baby products: Keep nappies, wipes, and baby formula, preferably ready-to-feed formula, as you may be unable to boil water to prepare powdered formula safely.
9. Pet products: Pet food and bottled water.
